A thug who was part of a gang who attacked a pensioner with a machete ‘deserved every day of his jail term’, appeal judges have ruled.

Ziggy Cawley, 24, was one of several armed burglars who badly wounded the man in his own home in Bury in April 2016.

The 70-year-old victim’s elbow joint was severed as he tried to protect himself from the fearsome blade.

Cawley, of Rollesby Close in Bury, was locked up for 18 years at Bolton Crown Court on June 2, last year, after admitting aggravated burglary, attempted aggravated burglary and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He was also convicted by a jury of violent disorder, Lady Justice Rafferty told London’s Appeal Court on Tuesday.

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An ‘explosion of extreme violence between two armed groups’ took place in Bury on January 29, 2016, the court heard, and the ‘savagery which unfolded’ terrified members of the public.

Ziggy Cawley

Branded a ‘danger to the public’, Cawley was ordered to serve an extra two years on licence after his release from custody.

He has 13 previous convictions for 16 crimes, including robbery and burglary.

But his barrister, Howard Godfrey QC, argued that his jail term was far too tough and should be cut.

Cawley would be 36 before he was eligible for release by the Parole Board, he said.

He was ‘not very bright’ and ‘easily led’ and had taken part in ‘drink and drug-fuelled madness led by others’, Mr Godfrey said, adding that his progress since being in prison had been ‘remarkably encouraging’.

But Lady Justice Rafferty said Cawley had inflicted ‘violence and terror’ on innocent people and ruled that it is ‘not arguable the sentence is manifestly excessive’.

The appeal was dismissed.

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